Sep. 15, 2012

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Map: 41st Senate District

ALBANY — Two Republican senators who voted in favor of same-sex marriage last year face uncertainty after the results of Thursday’s primaries showed them in races too close to call.

Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, held just a 42-vote lead over conservative challenger Neil Di Carlo in the 41st Senate District covering parts of Putnam and Dutchess counties. Upstate, Sen. Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga, was trailing Kathy Marchione by 124 votes, according to Thursday night’s preliminary results.

The races will now come down to absentee ballots. There may be at least 1,000 outstanding ballots, and the counting will begin next week.

“I’d rather be up 42 than down 42. I feel confident when the absentees are counted, I will be the victor,” Saland said Friday in a telephone interview with Gannett’s Albany Bureau. “We are in the process of planning for the general election.”

A third Republican senator to support same-sex marriage, Buffalo Sen. Mark Grisanti, cruised to the party’s nomination, winning 60 percent to 40 percent.

Supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage had different takes on the election results, with opponents saying that it’s a sign of voter backlash.

“The people of New York have sent a clear and unequivocal message — they will not tolerate politicians, Democrat or Republican, who redefine marriage,” Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, based in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.

The three Republican senators, along with Sen. James Alesi of Monroe County, broke from their party ranks to support the same-sex-marriage bill in June 2011 — making New York the sixth and largest state in the country to legalize it. The senators have said they expected criticism from conservative voters. The state Conservative Party also dropped their support for the GOP senators. Alesi chose not to run for re-election.

“I have no regrets, and I make no apologies, and we’ll move forward,” Saland said of his vote. He was the critical 32nd vote for the measure to pass.

Same-sex marriage supporters hailed the senators for their bravery.

“We are quite confident that our candidates will earn the vote of their full constituencies in the general election,” said Lynn Faria, interim executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda based in Manhattan.